


Ravenhalt Academy of Magic

by Desnay



Category: Original Work
Genre: Disney parent syndrome, Everything is Magic, Gen, Magic School, but not biblical kinds, demons and angels exist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-01-21 03:37:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21293003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Desnay/pseuds/Desnay
Summary: Deep within the Black Forest is a hidden city, walled from the things that lurk. And in the middle of this city lies Ravenhalt, an academy of magic that teaches even the branches that are considered too dark, such as necromancy, as well as allowing creatures like vampires into the halls. This is where, someday, a young demon girl will attend her schooling. Though there are forces lurking in the dark, wanting to be rid of her, and her friends must help her survive to see her future unfold.
Kudos: 1





	1. Of Birth, Adoption, and Childhood

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo,,, new story,,,, yeah,,,  
In my defense though, this is my NaNoWriMo project, and this chapter is actually the product of technically three days of work. Anyway, enjoy this, if you want.

**-December 31st, 1999 11:59 pm-**

Everywhere on Earth, sentient beings of all kinds were celebrating the turn of the century, a New Year’s Eve that wasn’t going to happen for another hundred years, even more time before yet another turn of the millenium would happen. Meanwhile, far down below in even the darkest pits of the Underworld, the demons were celebrating for another wonderous reason. For just a few seconds ago, the children of the Underworld’s king were born. Lily Superbia, daughter of Lucifer Superbia, first of his line to assume the role of king after the mysterious death of the previous holder of the role, and Phoebe Superbia, wife and queen consort, is the princess, and will become the future queen despite being the youngest as the one marked with the symbol of the Underworld on the back of her right hand. Faust Superbia is the only son and oldest of the twins, and will be the advisor and protector of Lily. At the moment, the twins are safely nestled in the arms of their mother, not knowing of how their, and everyone else's, lives will be ruined and changed in just a few months time.

**-February 14th, 2000 12:00 am-**

It had been a little over a month since the twins were born, and demons were still celebrating. After all, it wasn’t everyday that the royal line was secured, and the loss of the old king, still young with a wife yet no children, was still fresh, even two years down the line. Even the previous queen consort had gone missing not long after, leaving many to whisper that perhaps she had something to do with the king’s death. But regardless, there was still celebrations to be had, and even the guards of the castle took part. While the guards drank and celebrated though, they missed a shadowy figure gliding through the halls, creeping into the royal nursery.

Two cribs sat in the room, across the room from each other. One pink and one blue. The illusionary moon shone brightly through the windows, lighting the room with a soft white light. When the figure steps more into the light, leaving the door open, they are revealed to be quite clearly a woman, though her features are hidden by the cloak she wears. After a moment of observation, she makes a beeline for the pink crib, glaring down at the sleeping baby. Although disgust radiated off the women, she still picked up Lily up, before turning as if she was going to head towards the crib holding Faust. Before she could do so though, voices came from the hallway along with footsteps, and the women had to make a decision. Quickly, she stepped back into the shadows, just as the door burst open and guards filtered in. 

As the guards were distracted with checking the room over, the woman in the cloak slipped out the door and ran towards the door for the servants, pushing it open and getting inside just as shouting came from the nursery and an alarm started blaring. The woman flew down the stairs, barreling past a few startled servants, who tried to stop her, with a few running out into the halls to find guards. Somehow, the woman managed to get out of the castle, taking to the alleyways of the great demon city surrounding the castle grounds.

Before long, the portal to the surface world came into view, along with a platoon of guards. Swearing softly, ignoring the crying of the baby held in her arms, the cloaked woman broke into a demonically powered run, just barely making it into the portal before one of the guard’s hands grabbed her. No thought of a place in her mind, she let the portal decide where she would end up. The swirling lights of the portal flared brightly before fading, the dingy walls and bright fluorescent lights of an Earth alley popping up around the woman.

Trash littered the ground, overflowing from the dumpster by the door of what appeared to be some sort of eatery. All in all, it was not a hygienic alley, and clearly not one that would be safe for anyone, not even for the thugs who must clearly hang around here. It was the perfect place in the woman’s mind to leave the wailing baby, though she only wished she could grab the boy as well.

“Well little princess,” the woman directed towards Lily with a cruel smile on her face, “Looks like this is the end of your ‘perfect’ life. Now you’re nothing but a worthless Earth brat, and my Caspian will be king.”

With that, she left Lily on the trash in the dumpster, still crying, before stepping into the shadows and vanishing, confident that the baby will die from the cold without the access to the powers of the Underworld to keep her safe. Lily’s crying echoed off the alley walls even as snow began to fall, the temperature dropping into freezing territory. And perhaps, Lily would have died, covered with snow until finally freezing, if not for a stroke of luck and a timely passerby.

Taro Kenkyo was a young newly wed, on a honeymoon with his wife to New York. Although 20 may seem like too young of an age to marry, Taro and Ai loved each other greatly, having been childhood friends and falling into a romance over many years together. Ai was still in the couple’s hotel room, tired after a day of touring, but Taro couldn’t sleep. It was no secret that he had some precognitive like abilities, usually taking form in very specific and correct gut feelings, and it was one of these feelings that had him venturing from the warmth of the rather fancy hotel out into the cold streets to a poorer looking area of the city, not quite the ghetto but close by.

And as usual, Taro is grateful towards these feelings as he hears a crying baby, breaking into a sprint and turning into an alleyway. It didn’t take long to find the source of the crying, reverently lifting the baby from the trash into his arms, the pink and purple pajamas with flowers cluing him into the baby being a girl. Clumsily rocking and shushing, slowly the baby stopped crying, opening her eyes, leaving Taro to let out a gasp as he looked into a pair of red eyes.

His trance was broken when the baby sneezed, reminding Taro of the current weather conditions. Opening his winter coat, he pulled one arm out of the sleeve and transferred the baby into that arm, holding the coat as closed as possible to block out the cold and snow but also not cutting off airflow. With that taken care of, he quickly started heading back to the hotel, careful of any slippery patches of ice to keep the baby as safe as possible.

It took longer than he would like, but eventually Taro made it back to the hotel. Getting inside was a blessing, the warmth of the hotel gradually melting away the chill of the outside and the tension in his body. Nodding to the late night receptionist, Taro took the elevator up to the third floor, making his way down the hallway to his and Ai’s hotel room. Unlocking the door, he was surprised to see Ai sitting up in bed.

“Taro, where did you go? And why are you wearing your coat?” Ai questioned, standing from the bed to meet up with him.

Taro just put his finger up to his lips, removing his coat to reveal the baby he held, fast asleep.

“I had one of my feelings,” he explained, Ai’s eyes widening as she looked at the baby. “I found her in an alleyway. She finally fell asleep a few minutes ago.”

Ai looked furious at what she had heard. She had always loved children, and wanted as big of a family as she could have. She quickly took the baby from her husband, Taro giving no resistance, and held the sleeping baby close. She took notice of the flowers on the pajamas, and nodded her head.

“She will be known as Sayuri then,” Ai declared, even as Taro raised an eyebrow. “I know we should look to see who’s baby this is, but I want to apply for adoption. Clearly whoever her birth family is don’t treasure this adorable little thing.”

Taro was quiet for a few moments, watching as Ai went around the room, collecting pillows from the closet and making a small nest on the bed right in the middle, where the two could sleep on either side, before placing the baby in the middle of the nest and pulling the blankets up. At last, Taro said what was on his mind.

“She has red eyes,” was all he stated, Ai quickly turning to look at him shocked for a moment, before looking back at the newly named Sayuri. “That means she’s not human. She’s a demon.”

“What that means is that we can adopt her easier,” Ai replied, Taro not even surprised at his wife’s declaration. “And we can give her a loving home.”

On that Valentine’s Day, while the Underworld searched and mourned the disappearance of their princess, a newly wed couple welcomed a child into their small family. Lily Superbia became Sayuri Kenkyo, and would not know the truth of her birth family for years to come.

**-July 19th, 2006 2:05 pm-**

It had been six years since Sayuri was adopted, and many things had happened. Due to her being a demon, her adoption process to the Kenkyo couple took significantly less time than had she been a human. She grew up in the town of Matsumamoto, and was beloved by both sides of her family. And when she started school, she quickly became beloved by the staff, though the students were more apprehensive of her, as well as many parents. All due to her red eyes, declaring her demon heritage for all to see.

“Your daughter is very bright, Kenkyo-san, and the staff all love her. But she is rather awkward around other kids, and many of the students shun her, regardless of if they realize they are doing it or not,” said Nagawa-sensei, Sayuri’s first grade teacher, “I’m worried for her future, and I have some suggestions to help her during the coming summer break.”

It was after school on a beautiful and sunny summer day, the last day of the first term of the school year. Most of the students had already left, picked up by parents and siblings, excited for the start of summer break. The usually bustling grounds of Matsumamoto elementary were empty and quiet, all except for one little girl playing by herself near the open window for her classroom. Her dark brown hair fell around her chin, framing her face in a cute childish way, with the bangs just brushing the top of her red eyes. The conversation continued above her, though she didn’t pay any attention to it.

She was in the middle of drawing something in the dirt when the bushes at the edge of the property started shaking. Looking up curiously, she was surprised to see a fox kit come tumbling out of the bushes, landing on it’s back and struggling to get back to its feet. The girl just watched the fox, as it righted itself and shook off the leaves and twigs, before catching sight of the girl. The two stared at each other until the school door started opening, causing the girl to turn around and the fox to jump back in the bushes. From the door stepped out Nagawa-sensei and Ai, finishing their conversation.

“I truly believe that sending her to camp may help with her, socializing, problems. It’s not that expensive either,” Nagawa-sensei told Ai as he handed her a pamphlet.

“If you’re sure…” Ai replied, trailing off as she took the pamphlet, though she still looked uncertain. Before Nagawa-sensei could say anything else, Ai took notice of the girl staring at them and smiled softly.

“Sayuri-chan, it’s time for us to head home. Say goodbye to Nagawa-sensei.”

Sayuri waved goodbye to Nagawa-sensei, who chuckled and waved back, before running up to Ai and wrapping her arms around her mother.

“Kaa-san, I saw a foxy!” Sayuri cheered as the two walked away from the elementary school, setting off down the streets of the city.

Ai just nodded with a smile, letting Sayuri chatter on while looking down at the pamphlet in her hands. It was hard to let Sayuri socialize when many children are scared of her red eyes. Ai was scared. After Taro’s death a year ago, Ai really only felt fear. The car accident was still fresh in her mind, and with Sayuri having been in the hospital for a long time afterwards also worsened Ai’s stress and fear. She was even too scared to get a job and leave Sayuri alone.

But, Ai knew that the money from Taro’s insurance wouldn’t last very long. Maybe, just maybe, sending Sayuri to this summer camp would be helpful for both of them. Sayuri can socialize and Ai can get used to the idea of being away from her daughter for extended periods of time.

“Sayuri-chan,” Ai began, pausing a moment when Sayuri looked up at her, unsure if this would be the right decision. “How would you feel if I sent you to a camp for the summer?”

“Ah, a camp? Like with other kids?!” Sayuri asked, excitement clear in her voice, eyes sparkling with the thought. “I would love to go to camp!! We’ll have so much fun!”

“I wouldn’t be going with you,” and immediately Sayuri’s face fell, leaving Ai wanting to take back anything she said, but she has to be strong. “This would be a camp for you to enjoy. And while you do that, kaa-san can work. Do you want to be stuck in a boring office daycare all summer, or would you rather spend that time with other kids in the woods?”

With that in mind, Sayuri looked to be thinking. The two had stopped on the sidewalk to talk about this, but when nothing was said, Ai started walking, picking Sayuri up after she didn’t start walking as well. It was quiet the rest of the way to their apartment, and as the hours passed as well. It wasn’t until when Ai was making dinner when Sayuri finally spoke up.

“I wanna go to the camp, kaa-san. I don’t want to leave you alone, but I do want to go,” Sayuri announced, looking up at Ai from where she stood next to her. “Is that bad of me to think that?”

“Oh darling, that doesn’t make you bad. I’m so glad you want to do this,” Ai answered, feeling tears build up in her eyes as she quickly pulled Sayuri into her arms.

Later, after Sayuri finally went to sleep, Ai sat on the bed in her room, staring at the picture she held in her hands. It was an older picture, from back when Sayuri had first been adopted. The three of them were dressed up in traditional wear, Ai glowing as she held the baby Sayuri close to her, while Taro looked down at the two of them with a soft look, one arm around Ai’s waist. Ai felt tears building up in her eyes as she looked at Taro, gently brushing her fingers against his face.

“Oh Taro. Sayuri is growing so fast. I wish you could be here to see her, that you could be here for both of us. We miss you so much,” Ai whispered to nothing, voice shaky as her tears fell down her cheeks.

**-July 22nd, 2006 9:37 am-**

It was very busy in the Kenkyo household this sunny morning. Ai was bustling around getting things ready while Sayuri sleepily ate her breakfast. She had had a hard time falling asleep the previous night, excited for the summer camp that she was going to be going to today. Ai, meanwhile, couldn’t fall asleep due to anxiety. She had thought many times the past three days to take back the decision to send Sayuri to camp, to keep her daughter safe at home. But when she saw the excitement in the young girl’s eyes, she couldn’t do that.

Finally, Ai had everything together, and just in time as she took notice of what the clock said.

“Sayuri-chan! We have to get you ready!” Ai said, quickly getting Sayuri up to get ready.

Getting her dressed was the harder part, luckily getting her to brush her teeth took less time. Slipping on her own shoes, Ai took a moment to help Sayuri get her shoes on, straightening out her outfit. A light purple t-shirt with some flower and butterfly designs on it, a white skort, purple knit type socks, and light brown hiking boots, as well as a hair clip with three different colored gems on it, a gift from Taro that he had meant to give Sayuri on her birthday, which according to the doctors, was around the end of December. But he hadn’t been able to give it, as the accident happened before then.

Shaking these thoughts out of her mind, Ai grabbed the handle of the small duffle bag she had packed Sayuri’s stuff in, and took Sayuri’s hand before the two left their apartment, heading to the meeting point for the camp bus. Making their way down towards the elementary school, the walk was spent in silence, mainly due to Sayuri still being tired. Thankfully, the school was close by, so it didn’t take very long for them to see the crowd of people waiting. Ai smoothed her hand down Sayuri’s hair as they left the duffle bag in the pile of luggage and joined the other families waiting.

Many of the families drew away from the two, fearful of Sayuri and her red eyes. But thankfully, before Sayuri could notice, one of the staff members around the camp bus walked towards the grouped families, Ai feeling surprised to see the camp staff member was Nagawa-sensei, though it made sense now that she thought about his insistence for Sayuri to attend the camp.

“Alright! I’m glad to see so many kids here for this camp experience! This will be an exciting year for sure! And parents, don’t worry, your kids will be completely safe at this camp.”

That speech out of the way, Nagawa gestured for the kids to come onto the bus. Many kids, mostly those around Sayuri’s age, were crying, not wanting to leave their parents. Sayuri herself seemed hesitant now, looking up at Ai.

“Don’t worry dear. You’ll be fine,” Ai soothed Sayuri, pulling her in for a hug. “I’ll miss you, but this will be fun for you. I’ll see you in a week, alright dear? You can come home anytime if you really want to.”

Sayuri hugged Ai tightly, nodding her head. Reluctantly, she let go, walking towards the bus. Looking back once more before getting on, she waved to Ai, Ai waving back. Once all the kids were on, Ai stood there until the bus left and couldn’t be seen anymore before she finally went home.

Sayuri herself was sat by herself near the back of the bus, everyone else either having someone next to them or putting something down next to them when she drew close. It was saddening, but nothing new for her. However, it wasn’t long before someone sat down next to Sayuri. Surprised, she turned to look at the newcomer, a boy her age she had never seen before.

He had tanned skin, tanner than Sayuri herself was, short reddish hair that stuck up all over the place, and yellow almond shaped eyes. It was his eyes that caught Sayuri’s attention the most, as she had never seen anyone have an eye color that wasn’t brown or black. The boy grinned, eyes closing with his large mischievous grin. He leaned in closer to Sayuri, still smiling.

“Heya! My name’s Kori Tatsuya, but you can call me Tatsuya, or Tatsu!” the boy, Tatsuya, stated brightly, grin somehow getting bigger. “Nice to finally meet you, demon-chan!”

That made Sayuri jolt back, eyes widening as she stared at Tatsuya.

“Huh? How, how did you know?” Sayuri questioned, confused but somehow, not afraid. Something told her she could trust the strange boy.

Tatsuya laughed loudly, before patting Sayuri’s head and standing up, moving back towards his original seat, next to another unknown boy, leaving Sayuri with her question unanswered as the bus jolted into motion, leaving the elementary school behind.


	2. Summer Camp

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter was rather hard for me to do, as I started wanting to move on to the third chapter halfway through this one. I kinda, rushed the ending. But whatever, I'll go through later and edit it, I just want to focus on NaNo rn.

**-July 22nd, 2006 12:45 pm-**

The first hour of the bus trip, Sayuri desperately tried to get Tatsuya’s attention, confused about, well, everything he said. ‘Finally meeting’? Had he heard of her before? Was he in a different class and had a friend in her class or something? Of course, Sayuri being a demon wasn’t really secret, it being hard to hide her eye color.

That was another thing she wanted to ask about. Tatsuya couldn’t be human, his eye color was clearly indicating some sort of nonhuman heritage. But Sayuri couldn’t think of what.

Regardless of her attempts, Tatsuya didn’t look back. After an hour, Sayuri stopped trying, tired in many ways. She resorted to staring out the window next to her seat, and before long, she fell asleep. Once that happened, it didn’t feel like anytime at all until she awoke to accidentally hitting her head on the window when the bus jolted, looking outside to see the forest and dirt road.

The bus came to a slow stop in front of a large wooden gate, one of many buses pulling in to park. The kids were ushered off the bus before being separated by age and then further separated by gender. Sayuri’s group had five other girls, only one being familiar, that girl avoiding looking at Sayuri and moving slightly to be far away. Disappointing, but not unexpected.

“Hello campers, and welcome to camp! A week long excursion into learning about nature! The kids with you in your groups will be your cabin mates for the week, so I hope you all get along!” the camp head cheered. She seemed like a very energetic woman, and it was just tiring for Sayuri.

Thankfully, that seemed to be the point at which the counselors were able to take the groups to their cabins, Sayuri trailing behind the rest of her group. The cabin they were set to be in was set further away from the others, closer to the woods than many others. The inside was very nice, with a seating area in the front by the entrance, a larger room with four sets of bunk beds in a row from wall to wall, and a bathroom with a shower connected to the larger room. Each bunk had a little area for the girls to put their stuff on, even the top bunks, and each bed was outfitted with white sheets and pillowcases as well as a pink flowery blanket.

Sayuri snagged one of the top bunks, placing her stuff in the cupboard provided, and turning to look at everyone else setting up. The girl from her class, Miyu or something like that, had chosen the bottom bunk on the further end away from Sayuri, and the counselor had the bottom bunk of the bed next to Sayuri’s bunk. Looking down, she noticed no one had chosen the bed beneath hers. Sighing, Sayuri looked back up, meeting the eyes of the girl in the top bunk next to her. The purple eyes of the girl, who just widely smiled and reached over the gap, holding her hand out.

“Hey! I’m Fujioka Etsuko! You can call me Etsu-chan though! Hey, you’re a demon right?? That’s really cool!” the girl, Etsuko, spoke very fast as she grabbed Sayuri’s hand.

“A-ah, um, nice to meet you? I’m Kenkyo Sayuri, but you can call me Sayuri, if you want,” Sayuri stuttered out, not used to the positive attention from someone other than her mother. “And, uh, for your question, I think I’m demon. What about you? I’ve never seen purple eyes before?”

“I have faerie blood in me! That’s what my eye color means!” came the, as ever, enthusiastic reply.

“Oh. Do, do you happen to know what yellow eyes mean?”

“Yellow? Hmm… nope!”

Sayuri just sighed, but gave Etsuko a small smile regardless. Before either of them could say anything else, the counselor clapped her hands together, getting the attention of all the girls.

“Alright campers! We need to make our way to the main hall for the introductory meeting!”

Everyone was so cheerful here, it was odd for Sayuri. All her life, she has only been around calmer people. Her father had rarely spoke, mostly using gestures and body language to speak. And while her mother had been rather energetic, but after the accident, she had become anxious, afraid. Sayuri herself had always been withdrawn. So this was certainly new to her.

The counselor lead the way, with all the little girls following her like ducklings. Making their way to the main hall, the group eventually merged with the crowd of other girls, all of different ages, but all around elementary school age. Etsuko continued to chat towards Sayuri, not even being bothered that Sayuri wasn’t even talking much. It seemed like this may be a common occurrence for Etsuko.

“Tatsu!!” Sayuri was shocked out of her thoughts when Etsuko suddenly shouted, right by her ear no less, and started dragging Sayuri with her towards a familiar redhead and his companion.

The two boys stopped, Tatsuya turning around and smiling at both Etsuko and Sayuri. No one had time to say anything before Etsuko let go of Sayuri and launched herself at Tatsuya, the other boy quickly ducking around the two now on the ground hugging to stand next to Sayuri. Sayuri herself looked at him, curious about him.

He was taller than Sayuri, though that was no surprise as she was known to be the smallest in her class. The boy had fair skin, short black hair that seemed almost purple in the light of the sun, and pink eyes. The third person Sayuri has met with different colored eyes, it seemed like this camp was going to be very interesting. The boy caught Sayuri staring and gave a small, hesitant smile.

“Um, hi,” he started, voice quiet, almost impossible to hear over the din of the other campers. “My name’s Aiyoku Haruka. And you are?”

“Oh! I’m Kenkyo Sayuri. Um, are you friends with Kori-kun and Etsuko?” Sayuri was curious, so the question slipped out before she could think about it. At least it was a simple question.

“Haru is my oldest friend,” the reply came not from Haruka, but from Tatsuya, who at some point during the exchange had stood up, Etsuko going back to stand next to Sayuri, holding the other’s arm. “Etsuko is a more recent friend. And I thought I told you to call me Tatsuya or Tatsu-kun!”

He was staring so intensely when he said that, that Sayuri quickly nodded her head, which caused Tatsuya to smile again, seemingly his default face. There was a moment of awkward silence before a counselor, not one that was familiar to Sayuri, though she knew only one, started ushering the four kids into the main hall, splitting them up back to their cabin groups. The other girls from Sayuri and Etsuko’s cabin moved away from the two, creating an almost unnoticeable gap, Etsuko not seeming to realize but Sayuri keenly aware of the movement.

Something had changed in the few minutes that they had been with the boys, but Sayuri wasn’t sure what had changed. Maybe it was because they were even talking to the boys? She had noticed in school that girls and boys stayed in separate groups, so that could be the reason for the sudden change.

The following speech was rather similar to the speech that the principal gave on that first day of school back in April. Basically, just saying that there were plans to make this a fun and educational week for all campers, and other things along that line. Once the speech was over, the cabins were split into groups, one girl cabin and one boy cabin to make four groups. These groups would be together all week, and would do activities together. Then, they were sent out to relax, whether to play in the field by the main hall, get to know their group mates, or go back to their cabins to rest before dinner.

The other girls elected to go back to their cabin, and while Etsuko complained a bit about how that was boring, Sayuri found she didn’t mind, as she was tired. Making it back to the cabin didn’t take very long, thankfully, and while the other girls were sitting on the beds further away and chatting, Etsuko having somehow convinced the counselor to be able to hang around outside doing whatever, Sayuri climbed up to her bunk and crawled under the covers, falling asleep quickly once her head hit the pillow.

**-July 22nd, 2006 5:03 pm- **

Loud commotion woke Sayuri up, groaning as the lights seemed brighter than before. Sitting up, she looked to see the other girls were talking loudly as they all were getting ready for something. Sayuri only had a brief moment to think of what they could be doing when the counselor came by the bunk.

“Ah, I’m glad to see you’re awake, Sayuri-chan! It’s time for dinner, so you better get ready quickly!” The counselor wandered off after saying that, no doubt to wrangle Etsuko back into the cabin to wash up. Sayuri took a few minutes to fix her clothes, before finally getting down. She made her way into the bathroom to wash her hands, pulling the step stool out from where it was behind the door to be able to reach the sink. After washing and drying her hands, she made her way out of the bathroom, taking a moment at the front room to put her shoes on with everyone else, and getting in line behind the counselor.

The hike to the main hall was about the same as earlier, only now it was slightly darker. The main hall itself had the tables that previously weren’t there set up, eight circular tables with eight spots to sit, which was a bit odd as there were only seven to a cabin, but Sayuri shrugged it off. She sat on the side that had her back against the wall, with Etsuko on one side and the empty seat on the other. Dinner was a simple affair, some katsudon with veggies on the side and some mochi for dessert.

Once dinner was over, they were all sent to the campfire, which consisted of an open area with stone on the ground instead of grass, some wooden benches set around the pit fire. There were some skits done by the counselors, a speech about how wonderful this week would be, the same speech that has been said multiple times over the night, and then a send off back to the cabins for bed. Sayuri had some good luck and was able to take the first shower of the night, getting some hot water before it was all used up, getting dressed in her pajamas, and then heading back up to her bunk. Etsuko chatted at her some more over the gap between their beds before the counselor called lights out, and Sayuri managed to fall asleep not long after, even with the pain on the top of her right hand, the light of the moon shining into the room.

**-July 28th, 2006 8:45 pm- **

Six days. It had been six days full to the brim of activities, much more than Sayuri has done in ages in all honesty, but it was fun. While the younger kids couldn’t really go swimming as much as the older kids, having to stay in the shallow areas of the lake, that was still fun. Really, the younger kids couldn’t do as much as the older kids could do, mostly just playing games on the field by the main hall, it was still more fun than staying in a daycare all week. Though, she would be spending more time in the daycare after this camp, which was disappointing.

At least she had this small break in the form of the camp. Maybe she could come back next year. It would be fun, especially with her new friends. Etsuko was very loud, but it wasn’t too much of an issue, Haruka was much quieter but easy to get along with, and Tatsuya, well, he was Tatsuya, not much else to say there.

But the whole week has led to this, a night hike after the nightly campfire to celebrate the last night of camp. The campfire had already been pretty special, what with everyone having to say their favorite parts of camp and how wonderful it was. And now, the night hike. It was actually rather surprising that the younger kids were able to join in this time around, but no one was going to question anything. So begun this new adventure. All kids were able to mingle with each other during this hike, so Sayuri had been dragged by Etsuko over to Haruka and Tatsuya, to wait for the first graders turn on the hike.

For some reason, it had been decided that they would go in reverse grade order, so sixth graders first and first graders last. Weird, but exciting. Right now, they were waiting until 9 pm, when their group could go. Etsuko and Tatsuya were talking about something, Haruka was standing just behind Sayuri, and Sayuri herself had her arms wrapped around her, trying to combat the cold. She never did understand why she always felt so cold when everyone else didn’t, but it was rather annoying. During the day she was fine, especially in the sun, but at night, it felt near freezing.

The cold also made Sayuri feel sleepy, and at the moment, she would love nothing more than to be in the cabin wrapped up in the blanket, nice and warm. Before she could nod off where she was, the counselors of the two first grade cabins clapped their hands, saying something about heading off. Instantly, one of Sayuri’s hands was taken by Etsuko, while surprisingly, her other hand was taken by Tatsuya. Haruka stuck in the back of the three, even as Sayuri’s face reddened from the casual contact from the other two, still not used to it even after a week of being around Etsuko, who was very physically affectionate, though this was the first time that Tatsuya initiated contact.

The hike started simply enough, through some paths that had been traversed often in the daytime, looking different under the light of the moon. The counselors were talking, something about nature at night, and Tatsuya and Etsuko were talking again, this time over Sayuri’s head, but Sayuri wasn’t paying any attention to any of that. No, instead she was paying attention to a creeping feeling that had begun to crawl up her back, and the pain in her right hand that had started to get worse the more they continued. When Tatsuya stopped talking and walking, staring off to the side into the woods, the group of course stopped as well, though the other campers and the counselors continued on, not seeming to realize that their group had stopped.

Sayuri tried to see what had caught Tatsuya’s attention, but stopped when she noticed that he was _growling_, looking up at him in confusion. He had a look of anger and fear on his face, as he pulled Sayuri to be further behind him. Finally, the creeping feeling changed to outright fear as a deeper growl came from the woods, branches breaking as a hulking figure stepped out of the woods.

The figure was towering, probably even taller than most adults. Definitely taller than a six year old. A deep growly chuckle came from the figure.

“Well, well, well. What have we here?” the figure, male from the sounds of the voice, asked, though not directed to any of the kids. “A bunch of little brats, alone in the woods at night. Didn’t you brats ever learn that the woods are dangerous at this time? Who knows what could be out here?”

He let out another deep laugh, stepping out of the shadows into the moonlight, Tatsuya stepping back away from the stranger, forcing the others to step back as well. In the light, it was easy to see what the stranger was, a werewolf, or rather due to his ability to speak and the moon being a crescent, a wolf shifter. Bipedal and a dark brown, his eyes were yellow, but not quite matching Tatsuya’s almost golden color. This yellow was too bright in shade. The moon glinted off his teeth and claws, and Sayuri was captivated by the shine for a minute until he launched himself at the group.

A quick movement by Tatsuya had Sayuri colliding into Haruka and Etsuko, pushing the three out of the way as Tatsuya leaped into the air, just clearing the wolfman, landing as a fox kit. A very familiar fox kit, in fact. Sayuri stared in surprise, still trying to process the wolfman’s arrival, and now adding the fact that Tatsuya was the fox kit from almost ten days ago. Was that why he said it was nice to finally meet her, back on the bus?

A tug on her arm brought Sayuri back out of her thoughts, finally registering that Etsuko was trying to pull her away from the fight. Though, it was less of a fight and more of Tatsuya running around the wolfman, taunting the wolf when he couldn’t catch the much smaller fox. Though hesitant to leave, Sayuri started running with Etsuko, Haruka already half a step ahead of them. Looking back, Sayuri pulled against Etsuko as the wolfman swiped out a claw, managing to catch Tatsuya in the side and tossing him to the side.

A scream. Two screams, Sayuri distantly aware that one was hers. The other, Tatsuya. A roaring sound filled Sayuri’s head as the wolfman started to approach the downed boy, having reverted to human form after the attack. A hot feeling rushed through Sayuri, Etsuko letting go with a hiss, hand red as if burned.

None of that mattered to Sayuri. The only thing that mattered was Tatsuya, bleeding on the forest ground, and the wolfman poised over him with a clawed hand above his head. He was saying something, and then his arm was swinging down, a blow that was sure to be deadly. Before the blow connected, Sayuri was in between them, catching the claw with a clawed hand of her own. Unnoticed by her, but noticed by the three others in the clearing, Sayuri had changed, just a little bit. A small pair of black horns were growing out of her head, black wings had manifested from her back, a fluffy looking tail had manifested, her hands were tipped in sharp looking claws, her teeth sharpened with the canines looking the most sharp, and her sclera had turned black.

Her face was in a snarl, looking as fearsome as a six year old could as blue fire erupted from her hands, setting the wolfman on fire. He screamed in pain as Sayuri effortlessly tossed him away, the wolfman running off into the woods, still on fire yet somehow not catching anything else on fire. Nobody moved for a few seconds, until Sayuri began to sway. As quickly as they came, the changes vanished, leaving nothing behind to show they had even been there.

Once the changes disappeared, Sayuri fell over unconscious, almost landing on her face if Haruka hadn’t caught her in time. Tatsuya and Etsuko just looked at each, not sure where to even begin on what had just happened, while Haruka stared at Sayuri, a look almost of awe on his face. It was a good thing that the changes disappeared, as only a few seconds later, one of the counselors, Etsuko recognizing her quickly as her and Sayuri’s cabin leader, ran from further up the trail, panic on her face. The panic didn’t go away when she saw the group, her quickly pulling out the little radio she had at her side all week.

“I found the missing four, but one of them is badly hurt,” she spoke into the radio, pausing to regard the group. “And one is unconscious. Looks to have been an animal attack.”

A response, inaudible to the four, came through, and the counselor nodded her head. Approaching the four, she knelt down to be even with them.

“How did you four even get separated from the group? Let alone even survive a wild animal attack?” too many questions that couldn’t be answered.

“It, it was my fault,” Tatsuya said, voice strained from pain. “Sayuri-chan was scared, so I made the decision to leave the group and go back to camp,” a half-lie. “The wolf got scared away by the others.”

The counselor looked suspicious at that, but thankfully didn’t call out the lies. Even if she wanted to, the sounds of a group of people coming stopped her. From the side of the trail by the campfire area came the camp leader, the camp nurse, and some paramedics. How quickly did they have to drive to get there, was definitely a question the three conscious kids had. The paramedics loaded Tatsuya on a stretcher, careful of his injuries, while the camp nurse carefully took Sayuri from Haruka’s arms, Haruka bristling at the action for some reason but unable to do anything due to Etsuko holding his arm.

Haruka and Tatsuya’s counselor was right behind the other group, exchanging a soft conversation with Etsuko and Sayuri’s counselor and the camp leader, while the paramedics and camp nurse left. The camp leader came up to the two children left behind, placing her hands on their shoulders.

“I’m proud of you two for helping as you were able to. Sayuri should be fine in the morning to join us for the final half day of camp, but Tatsuya will have to miss it. You two should head back to your cabins for sleep.”

It had been a long night, so they didn’t even argue, splitting up with their counselors, tired and worried for their companions. Sleep didn’t come easily that night.

**-July 29th, 2006 9:30 am- **

It was bright when Sayuri woke up, whole body aching. She had no idea where she was, and the last thing she remembered was…

“Ah! Tatsuya!” Sayuri screamed, jolting up from where she had been laying down, regretting the movement immediately.

Her outburst caused the camp nurse to come running in, concern on her face. She let out a sigh at seeing that Sayuri was alright, approaching the now awake girl.

“Sayuri-chan, it’s good to see you are awake. If you’re feeling well, you can go ahead and join the other campers for breakfast, as it is still going on,” the nurse said, Sayuri noticing that she looked, tired. That was probably why she seemed so unprofessional at the moment.

Sayuri just nodded, being quickly ushered out of the nurse’s building, which was right next to the main hall. Stepping into the main hall was certainly an experience, everyone turning to look at her in the doorway. Sayuri flushed red, looking down at the floor. Etsuko thankfully came to her rescue, grabbing her hand and pulling her to a table at the back, Haruka being the only other person at the table.

Now that she looked around, she noticed that all the campers were mixed up, sitting wherever they wanted. Her quizzical expression was enough to pull a small giggle from Etsuko.

“It’s the last day of camp, so we can sit anywhere!” Etsuko explained, pushing Sayuri into the empty seat between Etsuko and Haruka.

“Where’s Tatsuya? What happened to the wolfman?” Sayuri questioned the other two, confusion evident on her face.

Haruka and Etsuko looked at each other, than at Sayuri.

“Don’t you remember what happened last night? What you did last night?” Haruka asked, confusion painting his face when Sayuri shook her head.

“All I remember is seeing Tatsuya get hit, and then nothing,” she answered.

Another looked shared between Haruka and Etsuko, before Haruka explained, quietly, what had happened. How Sayuri changed and set the wolf on fire with her hands. How she passed out after and how Tatsuya was taken to the hospital. The explanation lasted through the rest of breakfast, Sayuri in a sort of shock through the ending speech and the walk back to the cabin.

The counselor gently suggested that Sayuri take a quick shower, a choice she agreed with. She just wanted to go home, get away from this camp. But at the same time, she didn’t want to be separated from her new friends. Maybe, they could keep in contact somehow? That thought stuck in her head the rest of her shower and while she was packing. On the bus, they managed to snag a three person seat, with Sayuri again in the middle of the two. She ended up falling asleep on the way back, waking up when Haruka shook her shoulders.

Stepping off the bus, Sayuri was immediately pulled into her mother’s arms, Aiko crying and apologizing about the camp. Before leaving the school grounds, she managed to get the home phone numbers for Etsuko and Haruka, the latter mentioning that Tatsuya would find her whenever he wants to hang out. And with that, Sayuri finally heads home, holding her mother’s hand as she waves goodbye to her new, and only, friends.


	3. A Magic School Recommendation?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A timeskip and a letter

**-March 27th, 2015 3:15 pm-**

It had been almost nine years since that night in the woods at camp, and with the changing of the years, so to did things about Sayuri and her friends change. Their group managed to stay close, even as they got too old for the camp once moving up to middle school. Luckily, being given cell phones had managed to help them keep in contact easier. 

Haruka, being the oldest of the group, had gotten his inheritance a month earlier on his 16th birthday, though no one would tell Sayuri what he was, other than half human. Tatsuya, as a full kitsune, already had access to his full powers pretty much since birth. It would be another three months until Etsuko turned 16 and would get her inheritance.

Inheritance, what everyone who had some sort of nonhuman blood in them would get upon reaching 16. Those who were half nonhuman tended to have more powers and occasionally a more painful inheritance than those who were further removed from their nonhuman ancestors. People like Tatsuya, and Sayuri, who had no or very little human blood in them often had access to their powers from a young age, even if they had to train them up. 

Honestly, Sayuri was privately glad that she never had to deal with an inheritance. From what she had heard, Haruka’s was incredibly painful for him, enough to knock him out for a few days, and those few days had been rather stressful for all of them. And he utterly refused to say what he was, even forbidding Tatsuya to say anything, as of course, Tatsuya seemed to know everything. Apparently, Haruka had believed that it was best to show off in person.

Etsuko, on the other hand, knew what she had in her blood, and was eagerly looking forward to her inheritance, often daydreaming about what she would be able to do. The group chat was constantly barraged by her ideas, not that the others minded. Sayuri had been working on her own powers since that first year at camp, and she could now summon the blue flames at will, though she just couldn’t figure out how to use the rest of her powers. It was a bit disheartening, but the others always reassured her that it was normal.

Regardless, today had been the last day of middle school, and there would be a ten day break before the start of high school. Didn’t seem like enough time, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. Sayuri sighed as she finally got to the apartment building she lived in her whole life. It was only three floors tall, so it had no elevator. Most days were fine, but when it rained, the stairs tend to get slippery.

Climbing up the stairs, Sayuri made her way to the end of the hall, to the door that had the Kenkyo name plate next to it. There was mail in the mailbox next to the door, so she grabbed it as she unlocked the door, stepping into the apartment. Although her mother had been able to make it to the middle school graduation, she had to leave right afterwards for work, and would have to stay late tonight, which meant it was Sayuri alone most of the night.

It didn’t bother Sayuri, not anymore. Placing the mail down on the dinner table after removing her shoes, she checked the fridge, frowning a bit as she looked at what they had. She would have to go shopping today, there wasn’t much in the fridge. With that decision made, Sayuri went to her room, grabbing some clothes to change into. After getting dressed, she made her way into the bathroom across from her room, to wash up a bit and double check her appearance.

Since her youth, her hair had gotten longer, now reaching to the middle of her back, often left loose, but she decided to tie it up into a bun for the moment, bangs kept out of her face with the hair clip from her childhood. Her outfit was a simple pale pink turtleneck sweater that was at least one size too big on her and light grey shorts that barely poked out from under her sweater over white tights. Once she was sure she looked nice, she left the bathroom, grabbed her wallet and phone from where she left them on the table, slipped on her brown short boots, and headed out of the apartment, ensuring that the door was locked behind her.

The walk to the supermarket didn’t take too long, thankfully, and the market wasn’t even that busy, which was a bonus. As she was placing things in the basket she had, keeping in mind that she could only carry so much, her phone vibrated. A private message from Tatsuya.

T: _Have you checked your mail?_

S: _Not yet, though I do have it at home. Why, did you send something?_

T: _Hmm, nope! But I have a feeling you’ll want to see what you have. ;)_

S:_ ...That emoji doesn't make me feel any better_

T: _;p_

Sayuri rolled her eyes in fond exasperation. Tatsuya rather enjoyed being cryptic in person and over text, it was like a character trait if this was a video game or something similar. Regardless, she sent a quick message acknowledging that she would check the mail later, then went on with her shopping.

The walk back to the apartment took longer than she would've liked, but she had to go slowly to avoid spilling or dropping anything. It was times like these that Sayuri was glad that they lived on the second floor, as the bags were heavy and would've been horrible trying to go up four flights of stairs rather than just two flights.

Placing the groceries down momentarily to take her boots off and shut the door, Sayuri prioritized putting the food away before doing anything else. Once that was finished, she checked the time, figuring that she had some time before needing to start dinner. So, checking the mail it was. She started sorting through the small pile, separating the bills from any potential junk mail. Sayuri had begun to think that Tatsuya was messing with her, until she got to the last letter.

At first it looked like a normal letter, but when she turned it over and saw the crest on the front, she knew it was no ordinary letter. A raven sitting on crossed bones. The crest of Ravenhalt, an illustrious but controversial school of magic, located in Germany, and known for having no restrictions on who or what they teach. To have a letter from them, well, Sayuri had feeling she found the reason for Tatsuya's crypticness earlier.

Sayuri felt hesitant, and a bit scared, to open the letter, but figured it was best to do so now and get the news over and done with before she had to start dinner. So, grabbing the letter, she slowly opened it up.

_To Sayuri Kenkyo,_

_We are pleased to inform you of your enrollment into our esteemed school, as you have been recommended by a close associate of ours. It has come to our attention that the abilities that you have need more polishing, and we would love to have you as a part of our numbers in the years to come. As you may be aware of, we host all kinds of beings in our school, regardless of others beliefs on certain species. But have no worries, as we ensure the safety of all of our students in the event of potential threats, from within our walls or the outside world._

_We understand that you will be entering high school soon in your country, however, we do ask to hear back from you soon if you accept our invitation so we can inform the schools near you that you will be starting in September along with our other students. Simply send a letter via the closest post office denying or accepting our invitation._

_Sincerely,_

_Headmistress Prudence Delacroix_

Sayuri felt like she couldn’t breathe. An invitation, to Ravenhalt, on recommendation. Being recommended to any magic school was a great honor, and for it to be THAT school… She had to message Tatsuya, now. Fumbling to get her phone, Sayuri read through the letter again as she composed her message.

**Sayuri has made a conversation with Tatsuya**

S: _Care to tell me why I have a letter from Ravenhalt saying I was recommended?_

T: _:)_

S: _Don’t just make a smiley face at me!_

T: _Ha ha, sorry. I honestly have no idea who recommended you, only that I’m sure it’s the same person who recommended myself, Etsuko, and Haruka._

S: _Well, I’m glad to hear you guys will be going as well, or at least I hope you all will_

T: _Oh, so you’re gunna go?_

S: _Yes? Why wouldn’t I?_

T:_ Hmm, good point!_

S: _You are such a handful sometimes. You’re either playing tricks or being unnecessarily cryptic. Is there any reason why?_

T: _I’m a kitsune, it’s kinda in the description._

S: _Oh, right…_

T: _Also, you’re cute when you get flustered ;). Anyway, I gotta go, bye!_

S: _Hey, wait! You can’t just go like that!_

**Tatsuya has left the conversation**

Sayuri’s face reddened, embarrassed from that comment. Tatsuya always said strange things, but that was certainly the first time he had said something like that. Sayuri sighed, head thudding against the dinner table as she continued to stare at that message. After a few minutes, she shook her head, deciding that it wasn’t said seriously, and stood up from the table. It was starting to get late, and she was hungry.

With all that had happened in a short amount of time, Sayuri made the decision to just make some omurice. It was her go to when she felt too exhausted to make something more complicated. It didn’t take very long for her to finish cooking it, and once finished, she took the plate over to the table to sit and eat. While she ate, she read through the letter, again.

She already planned on going there, now that it was an option for her. But, would her mother be okay with that decision? The school was in Germany, which was so far away, and there was no guarantee that she’d be able to visit on breaks other than summer. Well, there was the town around the school. Maybe, maybe she could convince her mother to move there instead.

Sighing, Sayuri placed the letter down on the table, getting up to wash her dishes. As she did so, she thought about her options. It was the start of spring break, so there were ten days left before the start of the next year. If her mother agreed to send her to Ravenhalt, there was the thought of what she would be doing up until the school year started for them in September.

_‘I wonder if they would have us move there anyway? Maybe have some classes to get us caught up power wise?’_ Sayuri thought.

There was very little info about the school, outside of its controversial nature as a “dark” magic school, even though magic was as black and white as actual people, which means to say that there was really no easy way to decide what could be considered evil or considered good.

Regardless, it was getting late, and she had had a long day. Although she wanted nothing more than to go to sleep, she had to wait for her mother to return home to talk about this. So, Sayuri opted to spend her time reading until the time came for her mother to get off work and get home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally managed to finish this chapter! It was a lot shorter and took longer than I would've liked, but I did my best. And this should be the end of the timeskips/timestamps, as things should be pretty much back to back from this point on. Idk when the next chapter will be up, as there is family over until the 10th, so I probably won't have a lot of time to do writing...


End file.
